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Marketing is one of the most often overlooked part of being a home inspector. In order to gain more leads and get more home inspections, you need to be marketing yourself and your services. 

Here is a quick marketing checklist to get your home inspection business started: 

Need assistance with your marketing so you can focus on the inspections? Head over to our marketing page to see how ATI Academy can help you! 

Congratulations! You’ve decided to sell your home. A home is probably one of the most expensive purchase you’ve ever made and is one of  the most expensive things you will ever sell. When selling your home, you’ll want to be on the lookout for these common mistakes to ensure that you are getting the best deal.

Additional Costs

Even though you are the one selling the house, you should expect some costs along the way. The majority of people choose to work with a real estate agent. When you work with an agent, they will make a commission off the sale of your home. Staging costs will vary depending on the size of your home and how much you want to stage. While most home buyers will do a home inspection on the house, it is wise to do one yourself before you list the home to know what will need to be fixed. You can also expect some closing costs which include sales tax, title transfer and attorney fees for making sure everything is buttoned up.

Selling When Upside-Down with the Mortgage

Some people will want to sell their home in order to pay off the remaining balance of the loan. However, there are a lot of factors that will affect this such as if your property value went down or if you owe more than it’s worth. You should not sell unless you are trying to avoid bankruptcy or foreclosure. Try to stay in your home and build more equity before you sell.

Not Hiring an Agent

Yes, agents will take a commission from your home sale, but is it worth it? YES! You can expect to make about 30% less on your home if you choose to sell it yourself. Most agents will have different commission rates and you can try and negotiate as they are not set in stone.

Hiding Major Repairs

This is where getting a home inspection before you put the house on the market is a good idea. The buyer will most likely do their own home inspection but if you know what you need to fix before you put it on the market, you will most likely sell your home faster. If you don’t want to fix the repairs then the home buyer will take that into consideration when it comes to the price. Never be dishonest about repairs in your home.

Staging and Showing

While staging is another additional cost, don’t skip it! Most home buyers will want to visualize what the house could look like and them in it. Home’s with staging tend to sell faster and at a higher price. Do not show an empty house to potential buyers. If you have already moved your furniture, find a place to rent some for the showing. When you have a showing, let the agent take the lead. They will be able to answer the difficult questions.

 

Source: https://www.daveramsey.com/blog/home-selling-mistakes

Home Inspections during the Corona Virus

A study done by Realtor.com showed that 63.6% of future homebuyers were unwilling to buy a home without seeing it first. A home is one of the largest investments for many people and consumers still want to see a house in person before they buy it.

Here are some tips to staying safe while trying to buy a home during Corona Virus:

When setting the appointment to see the home, ask the property contact specific questions such as:

Has anyone been in contact with parties who have a confirmed case of Coronavirus?

Is anyone in the household currently sick, coughing or has a fever?

Has anyone in the household recently travelled?

Try and limit the showing to as few people as possible.

During the showing, here are some recommended precautions:

Ask that all the light switches be turned on and doors opened before you arrive.

Avoid touching surfaces

Wear masks and/or gloves as need

Bring hand sanitizer with you 

Buying a home is an exciting time and you should not have to wait. Using these simple precautions will help protect you, the agent and the buyer during these times.

Ideally, home inspectors and real estate agents would work together to help home buyers make knowledgeable decisions about what properties to buy.

Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case, ultimately causing the home buyer to lose out.

There is a common misconception that real estate agents want inspectors who will turn a blind eye to problems with a home to help them make the sale. In truth, honest and reputable Realtors want inspectors to deliver the facts. If there are honest issues with the home to consider, they should relay that to the home buyer. At the same time, agents aren’t too keen on inspectors who exaggerate findings or make a buyer feel like they are buying a lemon – except when that is the case. If the inspector makes his or her findings seem like the end of the world, the buyer may go running from a perfectly acceptable home.

Buyers, particularly first-time buyers, are trusting the inspector to tell them if the home is worth purchasing.

Perspective Matters

From the perspective of a real estate agent, the main difference between a good or bad home inspector is in the delivery of information. Real estate agents want honesty, but they also want perspective.

Most home buyers are on a budget, and there are plenty of quality homes on the market that would make great purchases for the budget conscious buyer.

Home buyers are putting their faith in real estate agents and home inspectors to guide them to these homes. They want to own a home, and they need to buy something that will serve their needs, which almost always means compromise.

An experienced agent and a skilled home inspector have a realistic perspective on homes in their respective markets. They understand that almost every home has issues, and they know how to tell the difference between serious problems and minor to moderate problems, which many buyers can deal with to own a home.

Most real estate agents have no desire to see a client buy a home they will regret and will work hard to avoid such a situation. A good inspector obviously feels the same. An inspector is approaching the situation from a different angle and needs to be ready to explain the results of an inspection in a way that helps buyers make an informed decision. 

So you passed your test and you’re official a home inspector! Now what?

Now it is time to start branding yourself and marketing your business!

Let’s make one thing clear. Branding yourself and marketing your business are two different things. Banding yourself is identify your business, how you will be different, what services you will offer, etc. Marketing is where you will try and sell your brand to potential clients. In order to market effectively, you must first have strong branding.

In this post, we are going to focus on branding. Branding is all about how you want to be known and how you want your clients to remember you.

Start by listing out the services that your clients need and what is most important to your potential customers. Your potential customers should always drive what your business stands for. Without customers, you would have no business.

Next you need to take those services and what is important to your customers and communicate them effectively. A way to do his is a tagline for your business such as “Have it Your Way’ from Burger King or “Be Qualified, Not Just Certified” from ATI Home Inspector Training. A tagline is something that you can community easily and effectively to those potential customers.

After you think about what services you want to offer and what is important, you will need some branding materials to get your business off the ground. You will use your branding materials when you start marketing your company. These materials include things like logo, flyers, business cards, website etc. You want everything to look and feel the same across the board. Color schemes, wording and design should all be the same on these materials.

Here at ATI Academy, we understand that this can be an overwhelming task as you are starting our your business. That is why we offer services to help you discover your brand and make those materials such as business cards, websites, logos, flyers and more! Don’t let branding stop you from starting your home inspection business. Instead, let ATI handle that for you so you can focus on the things you love!

A home inspector’s purpose is to evaluate the health and safety of a home. Therefore, taking precautions to ensure the health and safety of the home inspector and the clients they are serving, is equally as vital. Home inspectors come in contact with many people and homes as a part of their daily lives. The need to follow safety procedures is more important than ever as we face the risks of contracting and spreading COVID-19.  

It is likely your home inspection business has slowed down over the last few months due to state and local restrictions as well as community fears of allowing non-family members into their homes. However, there are many precautions you can make to ease client fears and protect yourself and the community while still conducting your business. 

Recommendations for Safely Providing a Home Inspection in the Time of COVID-19 

• Prior to a scheduled home inspection, ask the client the following questions: 

• Set and prepare the client of your safety procedures and expectations. Some examples: 

• Hold consultations over the phone or via virtual meetings to decrease chances of exposure.  

Home inspection is a necessary service to the community and should not be skipped during the process of a home sale or purchase. It is important that home inspectors do their part in protecting themselves, the home and the client while providing this vital service. Communicate clearly to clients that you take health and safety seriously. We do not know when business will continue as usual again so start preparing to conduct your business this way for the foreseeable future to ensure you can continue to operate a successful business. 

Find the latest CDC recommendations for conducting business here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/guidance-business-response 

Read OSHA’s Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19: https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3990.pdf 

Visit your state health department for information about COVID-19: https://www.usa.gov/state-health 

As of July 1st 2020, Ohio has postponed their licensing deadline for home inspectors indefinitely due to the COVID-19 crisis. 

We expect this will likely change once the emergency is over and will be monitoring the situation. 

Visit Ohio's official website for the most up to date information. 

AB-3044 is an act to amend Section 7197 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to home inspections in California. This law deals with sewer lateral repairs

"Existing law defines a home inspection as a noninvasive, physical examination, performed for a fee in connection with a transfer of real property, of the mechanical, electrical, or plumbing systems or the structural and essential components of a residential dwelling, as specified. Existing law specifies that a home inspector is an individual who provides home inspections. Under existing law, it is an unfair business practice for a home inspector, a company that employs the inspector, or a company that is controlled by a company that also has a financial interest in a company employing a home inspector, to perform specified acts, including performing or offering to perform for an additional fee, any repairs to a structure on which the inspector, or the inspector’s company, has prepared a home inspection report in the past 12 months.

This bill would create an exception to the above-described provisions regarding unfair business practices relating to home inspections. The bill would provide that the do not affect the ability of a plumbing contractor who holds a specified license to perform repairs pursuant to the contractor’s inspection of a sewer lateral connecting a residence or business to a municipal sewer system if the consumer is provided a specified disclosure before authorizing the home inspection."

ATI Academy will be staying up to date on this legislation. Due to the ongoing crisis, we do not expect to see any updates to this legislation until 2021. 

Read the full text here. 

We are excited to announce that ATI Training is now fully operational in the state of Texas. Students can now finish their full courses with ATI. Texas students will now have all of the same ATI resources as other states including but not limited to classroom training, field training, and more!

Most potential clients are going to ask a friend or relator who they recommend for a home inspection. Others will do a quick Google search to find someone who looks qualified and available. This is where your website plays a crucial part in the success of your business. Here are a few reasons you should be investing time and money into your website to keep it up to date.

Sales. Being online will automatically make you more visible to potential clients. This is obviously not all that is necessary to bring in revenue but it is a start. Having an easy to navigate website will allow clients to find information regarding your inspections and you. This will make you more credible and more of a viable option for them rather than calling Joe Schmo, the first number that popped up in their search.

Tracking. With a well-developed website, you should be able to better track your business. You will be able to see the traffic coming through, what people are interested in, and how many unique visits you are getting. This is all useful information in keeping the website updated with what your customers actually want to see.

Strive for Professionalism. While raising awareness about the company, you can also set a tone for what your inspection company strives for including your mission and professionalism. It allows you a platform to display your company’s culture and personality. This can help to set you apart from others.

Learn more about your demographic. You might think you know exactly who you are targeting for your home inspections, but having a website that is visible to everyone might widen that demographic. This will be helpful information to know in marketing your business in other ways.

Take a look at your website and see what areas can improve. Are you using all the tools your website has to offer? If not, start now!